Berklee Hosts Electronic Music Influencers for Connect 2023: EDI Summit
Laura Escudé, a pioneer of the style she dubs "future classical," is a keynote presenter at 2023 Connect: EDI Summit.
Image courtesy of the artist
The Electronic Production and Design (EPD) Department presents the second annual Connect 2023: Electronic Digital Instrument (EDI) Summit, an event taking place June 9–11 that will convene notable artists, performers, manufacturers, educators, and thought leaders from across the electronic music community. Ableton and Eventide are among the industry sponsors for this year's event.
The theme of Connect 2023 is electronic music in performance, highlighting the techniques, instruments, software, and hardware used by contemporary electronic musicians to create unique experiences both in concert and in the recording studio.
This year's keynote presenters are Laura Escudé, a renowned performer, producer, educator, and live-show programmer and designer, and Brian Crabtree, cofounder of Monome, a company that designs and manufactures flexible hardware devices for electronic performance.
“In the spirit of this year’s electronic music performance theme, we are excited to host Laura and Brian, two individuals who have had a profound impact on how we perform electronic music,” said Michael Bierylo, chair of the EPD Department. “Laura Escudé has been a prominent champion of the use of technology in performance, working with major artists as well as training a generation of professionals who are supporting many of the major acts touring today. Brian Crabtee is a pioneer in the development of grid performance technologies that support individualized creativity, and his designs have inspired many of the tools we now take for granted in electronic performance. We are honored to benefit from their insights alongside the many diverse perspectives that will be shared at Connect 2023.”
Escudé has programmed and designed shows for Jay-Z, Herbie Hancock, and Porter Robinson. A pioneer in live electronic performance, she became the world’s first certified Ableton trainer in 2008 and went on to found Electronic Creatives, an Ableton-certified training center whose students have gone on to tour with the Weeknd, Harry Styles, Ariana Grande, Mariah Carey, and Logic, among others. Under her artist moniker, Alluxe, Escudé has carved out a signature subgenre she dubs "future classical," which blends avant-garde and classical with live electronica.
Crabtree founded Monome with the idea of producing tools that allow musicians to create their own ways of performing electronic music. Praised for its minimalist design, versatility, and customization options, Monome's grid-based controllers have been used by deadmau5, James Holden, Nine Inch Nails, Imogen Heap, and Daedelus, an assistant professor of EPD at Berklee.
Noted electronic musician Daedelus is among the Berklee faculty members participating in the year's summit.
Image provided by the artist
In addition to these keynote presentations, the 2023 conference will feature performances, demonstrations, panel discussions, product showcases, and educational roundtables with a wide swath of forward-thinking industry leaders, such as Thierry Angers, head of music at Cirque du Soleil, and Anna Houmann, who will be leading a group from the Malmö Academy of Music at Lund University in Sweden. Other participants include Daedelus, dolltr!ck, Rishabh Rajan, and Isabella and Dan Freeman.
Registration is now open, with a special conference fee of $150 available for online registration. A student discount rate is available for $75 with proof of student identification. To qualify for the student discount, contact elpd@berklee.edu. To register, visit cvent.me/vWlv53.
